Year in Review

I was thinking a while ago about doing one of these, and I think I will. In about four hours, 2007 will be gone and 2008 arrived (in this timezone, at least.) With the passing of the year, I think back to what I've achieved, and what I have left to do.

This year I:
Graduated from high school
Started college
Finished the IB program and got a diploma
Started this blog
Read an amazing number of books
Held down three jobs
Joined the Colby College Chorale

Next year I will:
Have a radio show (streaming live online, website link to follow eventually)
Continue college
Keep this blog

My New Years Resolution:
To live life to the fullest. (Seems like an ambiguous cop-out resolution sometimes, but I'm sticking to it.)

Happy New Year, everybody!

Bravo, I suppose

Just finished with the Giants-Patriots football game. Glad the NFL Network decided to let it be seen after all. Why on both NBC and CBS, though?

Of course, the result is more important than the broadcasting networks. I suppose a congratulatory comment is due to the now 16-0 New England Patriots, so here goes: Congratulations.

Sorry if I couldn't muster much enthusiasm. If you'll recall, I don't particularly like the Patriots, and I thought for much of the game that the Giants (yay!) would win. Sadly, they wasted lots of time on their last scoring drive, and kicked the onside right into the Patriots' hands. Final score: 38-35 Pats, and a great game despite the outcome. Both teams are in the playoffs, and we just might see them play each other again. Maybe.

Yet more randomness

I've been rather prolific lately...it may have something to do with the glut of free time that winter break translates to. Of course, I'll have far too much free time in January as well, but at least then I'll be at school, with complimentary distractions.

Today I introduce you to the fascinating world of dorm life at Colby, using my own experience. The basic (weekday) schedule is as follows:

1. Wake up. This could be at any time, but during the week generally occurs at about 7 or 7:15.

2. Shower. My room is pretty much in the middle of the building, so I leave in pajamas, walk past four rooms, head to the bathroom. Waking up at 7 in the morning has its perks: I hardly ever have to share the bathroom. It also means that there are very few witnesses to my towel-wrapped walk back to my room.

3. Get dressed. Quickly, because the room is cold. Once shivering has stopped, pack the backpack and load up the pockets, because we're headed outside.

4. Breakfast. Choose from any of our three dining halls: Dana, Foss, or Roberts (Bobs). Generally Bobs is good for breakfast, as it's closest to the dorm.

5. Class. In the event that waking up did not occur right at 7, it is likely that the previous step of breakfast will have been skipped, and I will have proceeded directly to class. Class will then take up the morning.

6. Lunch. Usually at Bobs, but occasionally Dana or Foss. In the coming semester, there will be very little time for lunch. My schedule on Mondays and Wednesdays will begin at 9 and end at 6 and 4 respectively. Breaks? I don't need no stinkin' breaks!

7. Work/Lab. Again, this will probably be changing next semester. I work at the campus bookstore, doing things like shelving product, doing inventory checks, and receiving shipped items. The fun, it never ends. Or I could be in bio or chem lab. Also fun.

8. Chorale. On Mondays and Thursdays, 4-6. Non-sarcastic fun. Chorale is one of my favorite things about Colby, and I can't wait to go on tour.

9. Dinner. Usually Dana, occasionally Foss. If I can help it, not Bobs, which is truly terrible for dinner.

10. Fun. Usually playing cards/hanging out downstairs. If there's an exam coming up, I study. The wonderful thing about two sciences, math and a language is that there's very little busy work.

Weekend schedule alterations:

1. Sleep may continue until noon or beyond, but I like to wake up early. The hours of daylight are already too few as is.

4. At Foss, if I can. Foss features do-it-yourself waffles, which when dosed with whipped cream are amazingly delicious. Also, hash browns.

5. Not on the weekends. Thank goodness.

6. Breakfast and lunch are one and the same. There's allegedly a separate breakfast at the student union, but it's not worth it.

7. On the weekends? You've got to be kidding me. The only time I ever worked at the bookstore on a Saturday, I slept in, got there late, and then spent three hours reading at the cash register.

9. Anywhere but Bobs. Very rarely, we order in Thai or pizza.

10. All day long on the weekends. Also, lots of movie watching.

That's pretty much a summary of what I do at school...aside from the occasional social event or interesting lecture, it's pretty monotonous. However, it's an entertaining monotony. That sounds...good? Well, I like it. Seems to me that's the part that matters anyway.

Out of boredom comes...

More blog posts. Today's video is an interesting piece of insight I was directed to by my dad. If the future is now, then ten years from now should be pretty interesting indeed.

Watch!

Oh yeah - if anyone can tell me where the audio for the video comes from, I would be greatly indebted to you. It's definitely something I want to have.

How the movie industry lost its creative spark

I cannot possibly be the only one who sees movie after movie based on book after book and think "Don't they have any better ideas?" After seeing the Golden Compass today, I have to step back and wonder. In the previews (of which there were perhaps five or six (ever notice how it's hard to remember all the previews after you leave the theater?) there were two based on books: Inkheart (by Cornelia Funke, now with a sequel Inkspell) and of course the classic Dr Seuss, Horton Hears a Who. (I hereby pause this post to send a missive to Steve Carell: GET THE HELL OUT OF MOVIES). Sorry, but I absolutely despise Little Miss Sunshine. Dan in Real Life is decent, but not justification for Carell to have a career in film. Yes, I enjoy Office, but "lovably awkward" is the only character I see in Steve Carell, and I just don't see him as a good actor.

Anyways...back to the point. I blame New Line Cinema for engineering the shift away from originality in movies. In my limited experience of movie watching, the Lord of the Rings trilogy (which, I have to say, I enjoy very much, and I'm glad that Peter Jackson will be in control of a hopefully decent adaptation of The Hobbit. Goodness knows that the current movie versions are terrible...) cleared the way for many, many other movies based on fantasy/sci-fi books. Now we have had Hitchiker's Guide, Eragon, Golden Compass, Dark is Rising (The Seeker, in movie form), soon Inkheart, etcetera, etcetera...there's a rather LONG list here. And of course, which I just remembered, Harry Potter. Thanks to Rowling, children are reading again. And those of us who were reading the whole time are wonderfully immune (mostly) to the thrill of such books. Yes, they are good. Rather impressive, really. But I for one do not succumb to "Potter mania," having other books which I hold in higher esteem.

A minor digression: some of my favorite authors: Modesitt, Barron, White (of Arthurian fame), Tolkien (of course), Adams, and many others. If anyone knows of an author (or authors) that write similarly, please recommend, and I will give them a try. There are many, however, that I simply cannot recall, but then again, if I cannot recall them, then they are likely not my "favorites."

Back to the topic at hand: honestly, I don't quite remember where I was going with it. I seem to have given facts without opinion. That's how I think I'll leave it, in fact. I reserve judgment on the book to film phenomenon. When it reaches the point that every book that grosses above a certain amount in revenue is made into a film, then I say we're in a bad spot. Right now? I dunno. I'm looking forward to Inkheart despite myself. I can always hope.

Political Correctness Can Burn

It's nearly Christmas, and that means an end to the songs on the radio, the decorations in the street, and all else associated with Christmas - at least for another year.

Being Jewish, I feel somewhat removed from all the hubbub and hype. I get asked if I'm looking forward to Hannukah - sure, why not? I get eight "crazy nights" - thank you Adam Sandler, you immature goon - of presents and candle lighting and dreidel! Fun fun! But of the winter holidays, Christmas means the most religiously. Hannukah means next to nothing as a religious holiday - it celebrates the miracle of the oil and the Maccabees' heroism. For eight days of religiousness, look to Passover. Kwanzaa? Although I admit I don't know much about it, what I know indicates a religious connection on the level of Hannukah.

But Christmas is different. It's amazingly religious. I have no objections - as a Jew, as an agnostic - to being wished Merry Christmas as I go about my day. In fact, the thing I struggle with during the holidays is remembering to wish others Merry Christmas in return. Why? Because it means something. Because Happy Holidays means nothing. It's a wimpy, wishy washy way to say "you might take offense if I get the holiday you celebrate wrong." If I were a cashier, would I say Merry Christmas? Damn straight I would. Let political correctness go right where it belongs (hint: it rhymes with 'bell'). And so I say to any and all who read this:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Mitchell Report

Or, how baseball was and is a game of enhancements.

Since everyone has been weighing in on the Mitchell Report lately (okay, not everyone, but I just wanted a nice lead in), I thought I'd offer my two cents.

I don't care that baseball players use steroids. It's not like these players were terrible up until they took a shot of HGH or whatever. Steroids don't give a player talent, they enhance his natural abilities. Barry Bonds would still have hit plenty of homers without using steroids. Would he have broken Hank Aaron's record? Maybe not. Does it matter? To me, not much.

Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite have both been revealed to have bent over for the needle at some point. Do I think Pettite should get credit (ooh...accidental rhyming humor :) ) for apologizing? No. Do I think he should have to apologize at all? Nope. Clemens, monumental attention whore that he is, is not a terrible person for using steroids. His use of performance enhancers finally offers an explanation for why he's still playing the game at 43, or whatever age he is now.

Do I think baseball has lost some element of "mystique" because the men who play the game have been revealed to have used steroids? Not at all. Read Bill "Spaceman" Lee's two books about his years as a professional (and unprofessional) pitcher. If ever you had any thoughts about baseball being a gentleman's game, these books will quickly disabuse you of this notion.

I go to a baseball game for two reasons. The first is to enjoy a spectacle - be it pitching or hitting, I want to see a good game. And you know, if both pitcher and hitter are on steroids, then that makes it harder for either to gain an advantage. Odd, but true. The second reason is to see players I like. I'll be at GABP in June when the Sox are in town for a three game set. (Incidentally, no current Red Sox players are mentioned in the Mitchell Report). I love watching the Sox play. If they can play the way they do without steroids, then I love them even more. Would I change allegiances if half the team turned out to be users? Not a chance.

I think the Mitchell Report reveals something about baseball. I don't think it shows a problem with the game, but rather a problem with how the American public perceives the players. Were fans really naive enough to think that their favorite players were all steroid free? That steroids weren't a big problem? Performance enhancers have been part of the game for ages. Why criminalize it now?

If you pull anything out of this disjointed ramble of a post, it should be something like this: Steroids are part of the game. They may not be a glamorous part, but they're a part nonetheless. And I gain nothing in terms of enjoying baseball by raising a big stink about who's using them and who isn't. I don't care.

Google is trying to control the world!

Forget the search engine.

Forget the advertising customized to what you've been looking at.

Forget the email.

Forget the chat service.

Forget the fact that "to Google" is now an accepted verb.

Forget Google Desktop, Google Earth, Picasa, Google Analytics, etcetera.

Forget the search for clean energy.

Now, remember the first two, but combine them. Make it so that every time you Google (there's that verb) something, you get an ensemble of advertisements that are not only matched with what you're looking at, but that also come directly from Google. When you click on one of those advertisements, Google is making money. Billions upon billions of dollars go into online advertisement every year, and the amount is increasing daily. Google is now poised to control more than 40 percent of that amount, with the now approved purchase of the advertising giant DoubleClick. Basically, Google now makes money not only from the ads designed to fit your search history, but also from the ads that are simply integrated into the pages your search turns up. The EU has already taken issue with the 4-1 approval of the merger by the FTC, saying consumers' privacy is threatened.

Again, I love Google. And I'm going to keep using it. But someday soon, they will buy a small nation, arm it, and take over the world. I'm just saying...you heard it here first.

Madness

I learned the hard way yesterday that "ex-students" may not visit the school during the school day. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi
Security Guard: Can I help you?
Me: Yeah, I'd like to visit a few teachers
Security Guard: Do you have an appointment?
Me: Um...sure.
Security Guard: Are you a student?
Me: Well, I'm an ex-student...
Security Guard: You can't visit now. You can come back after school is over.

That pretty much covers it...but why can't I come in? The security guards all know me from the four years I walked the halls as a student. They know I'm no real threat to anybody. Are they worried I'd cause a distraction in class? On the last day of school before break, no less? They're right, I'd probably just crash the class party, and nobody wants that. I didn't really want to swing back around that afternoon, but I'll be back. Look for me when school's back in session - after school is over, of course. I wouldn't want to disrupt class.

And the obligatory video link: It was pretend to be a time traveler day two Saturdays ago, and this is what resulted.

You know you're bored when...

Today was quite possibly the most boring day I've ever had at Colby. It's a Monday, which automatically makes it bad, but it's also the second to last day that students are allowed to be on campus. The college is virtually empty - of around 2000 students, I estimate about 200 or less to still be on campus. Aside from the friend I'll be riding to Portland with tomorrow, there are about ten people I actually know left here. That being said, I spent the day (since I woke up at 10) on my computer. Aside from lunch (ate alone), saying goodbye to the last few stragglers I know leaving today, making popcorn, and dinner (with a friend), I've been holed up in my room listening to the local classic rock station and playing various computer games. I even sunk so low as to try the Survivor computer game Austin loaned me. I gave that up after I got voted out in the third tribal council. (Austin, by the way, is the resident reality show fanatic. He's currently hosting the campus Survivor game I think I mentioned in a post last month. I'm participating, so I can't tell you what's going on. You'll have to wait for it to all come out on Youtube.)

Other than computer games, I spent about ten minutes packing for the trip tomorrow. How did I make my packing time that short? Easy. I simply shook out the contents of my laundry basket over my empty bag. I'll be doing a rather large load of laundry on Wednesday.

I was just reminded of my love for the Sox...if you're a Red Sox fan, check this site out.

Because I'm feeling random: the song I'm currently listening to? The Grand Duel, Parte Prima, from Kill Bill. Thanks to Seeqpod and Mr. Dusch for the tunes. Next up on the playlist is the theme from Jurassic Park. I do so love John Williams. After that, I'm thinking the theme from Shaft.

While you're at it, check out this video. And this one. And finally, this one. No, I'm not going to embed them. I'm too lazy right now to do that.

Now for some Allman brothers...then House of the Rising Sun. And then possibly a movie...either Airplane or Munich. They're very, very different. I'm not sure. I watched Saving Private Ryan and Miracle last night with a few friends, but they're all gone now. I'm not sure if I'm up to watching Munich alone...I might have to move away from the window.

For now, goodnight. I'll probably post again when I'm sitting in the Portland Jetport for hours and hours tomorrow. I need to find some headphones.

Yay

So finals are over...now I just have to hang around campus until Tuesday...fun fun. What really sucks is that the huge snowstorm that was in the forecast has been downgraded to "snow, heavy at times, with sleet, accumulating 2 to 4 inches." I can't wait to be around for that...You know what would really be fun? Sleeping until Tuesday.

I'm flattered

Cash Advance Loans

By the way, there's a foot and a half of snow in the forecast for Sunday and Sunday night. Yay?

Final Exams Suck

Well, two exams down, and two to go. Calculus and biology back to back = not a fun afternoon. Or morning, for that matter. Actually, they didn't go that badly. Now tomorrow I'll be studying for the chemistry final (multiple choice, sweet), and the Italian final. Hopefully I'll do better on the final than I did on the midterm. Languages, unfortunately, are not really my thing.

As a side note, I'll be traveling homeward in less than a week, and I could not be happier. Nothing breaks up monotonous college life than a lack thereof. And after two weeks at home comes a month of one class days, with little to do other than read medieval German literature. Not by choice, mind you, but because that's the subject of the course. I've put in an application for a radio show over January, and if I get it, and it goes well, I may continue that into the spring. Also, the choir is going on tour. Twice in the next four years. Spring 2009 and spring 2011. It's going to be lots of fun. The thought is that Argentina will be the first choice in 2009, but Europe is in the cards for 2011. Whatever the destination, it'll be a blast.

This is really interesting

The human mind is a wonderful thing. We use only a fraction of it, and we're still capable of amazing things. Well, some of us. And yet we still have the same social abilities as our closest evolutionary cousins. That's fascinating. At least to me, that is. So, here's the link. Tell me what you think.

So who are you people anyway?

Google informs me that I actually have some people who read this blog regularly. However, I don't see this expressed through comments or anything like that. So I'm going to straight up ask everybody: Who are you? If you want, you can follow a structure:

1. Do I know you?
2. If yes, how?
3. Why are you reading this blog?
4. How did you find me?

Or you could just leave a random comment. It's up to you, the choice is yours. With great power comes great responsibility. Oh, and anonymous posts are allowed as of recently, too.

I have to go study for finals. Whee...calculus and biology in the same day. Followed by a multiple choice chemistry exam. There's something so wrong with that. And a Saturday morning Italian exam. I can hardly speak English at nine on a Saturday morning...and they want me to speak Italian? That should be interesting

Summary

So the first semester of college is almost over. It's been good to me, bad to me, cruel to me, and kind to me. I've made friends, enemies (although no arch enemies - yet), and in between. I've experienced college life, from drunken morons peeing in the stairwell at two in the morning to the Christian Fellowship, with possibly the nicest people I'll ever meet. (Sorry, not converting). I've discovered that college is like high school, with the same drama, the same cliques, and the same prejudices. I've discovered that college is unlike high school, with more freedom, more fun, and more alcohol. (Can't say I've indulged - excessively, at least. And yes, I know who's reading this, and no, that isn't really affecting what I write).

But the first semester is almost over. I'll be home in a little more than a week. Back to my old room, my old friends, my old life. Except it will be different. I'll be different. I'm excited to see all my old friends - but will I feel the same with them as I did four months ago? The answer is likely yes, but it might not be the same next year. You never know. I'll be able to drive a car freely for the first time when I come home - will a curfew be imposed? Something that didn't matter for all of high school - I got my license two days before arriving in Maine - is about to matter. And I have no idea how.

Not everything is changing. Some things are the same. I say the same stupid things, act the same immature idiot. I can fake maturity when I need to, but deep down I'm just a goof. I like being a goof. It's an identity. And yet even though I'm the same on the outside, I've been changed by college. I've tasted freedom. I don't know if I want to turn back.

Of course, the most likely choice is D: none of this will matter, and I'll be home and gone again so quickly that it will be like nothing happened. Next summer, we'll see. It's going to be a whole different ballgame...and I don't know if I want to play.

More Snow Photos...can't get enough

The winter is upon us

And I have lots of pictures, complimentary of friends. Seeing as I don't have my own digital camera (hint hint).

I'm a schmuck, you're a schmuck...

Gotta love the Onion...and Mel Brooks. Inquisition!

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/mel_brooks_starts_nonprofit

There is joy

Snow snow snow snow
Snow snow snow snow
Lovely snow! Wonderful snow!
Snow snow snow snow...etc

It's finally decided to be winter here in Maine (or at least the nice part of winter, with pretty snow to accompany the bitter cold). So far there's about four inches on the ground, with another six or so predicted to fall. Two of my four classes today were canceled. Unfortunately, I still have a chem exam at 5:30. Studying commences...now!

You know, just because

It'd be nice if my dorm room was warmer than 50 degrees all the time. I have found that shivering is not conducive to doing work. I'm wearing my coat all the time, and I try as much as possible to work in places where their heaters either a.) work, or b.) are not counteracted upon by a large window that serves to suck all the warmth out of the room.

Cold is good. I like cold. Walked four miles to and from Wal-mart yesterday in the sub freezing weather. I can deal with cold in places where I should have to. But is my room really one of those places? Is it really necessary that I should have trouble bending my fingers after spending an hour working at my desk? Note to self: space heater. Yesterday I had boiling tea in the morning to help me wake up/warm me up. I left it sitting for ten minutes while I write some emails. I then take a sip - cold as ice. It's currently about 20 degrees outside. That's fine. I'm inside. Unfortunately, inside is about 45 degrees. That's just not cool.

I don't want to whine too long...you get it, I'm cold. Get over it, I will be told, I who willingly went to the frozen north, submitting myself to four years of snow and temperatures better dealt with by running south. On a lighter, brighter note, some amount of snow will fall tonight and tomorrow. Projected accumulation is anywhere from six to twenty inches. Did I hear somebody say snowball fight?

I'm going to go stick my fingers in the microwave to warm them up. Until I write again, Ciao!